Floor-polisher.



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UNITED STATES PATET Orpi-Oa.

atraen e. MANSJ'IELD, OIFSBUFFALQINEW Yeni; AsisIeNonTo,nnnnanospnemmy oomrANY. or BUFFALO, New YORK, A conOaATION or nnwfvom;

FLOOR-POLISHR.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented o'eaao, 1914..

To all whom t may concernI Be itknownthat I, ELMER G. MANSFIELD, a citizen of the United States, residin at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented new and useful improvements in Floor-Polishers, of'which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a polishing d evice designed more especially for applying a suitable cleansing and polishing material to hard-wood floors, wainscoting and other surfaces and for polishing the same.

@ne of the objects of my invention is the' provision of a simple and inexpensive implement of this character by which the polish can be first applied to the floor or other surface and the latter then polished, the device having for this purpose two separate facesV either of which can be readily presented to the surface to be treated.

A further object is to provide the device.

with an eicient polishing pad or covering which requires-no separate means for fastening it to the head or body of the polisher.

Another object is to so combine the polishing head with its handle that notwithstanding the inclined position assumed by the handle in operating the device, the pressure is evenly distributed over the' entire surface of the head, rendering all portions thereof equally effective and equalizing the wear on the polishing pad.

ln the accompanying drawings: Figure l.

is a perspective view of the polisher with the covering ins-place.l Fig. 2 1s a similar view with the covering removed. Fig. 3 is a cross section of the device, taken through the handle pivot, the covering bein omitted.

Similar figures of reference in cate corresponding parts in' the several views.

The improved device comprises a polishing head l, preferably conslstin of an oblong board or block of oak or ot er suitable material, say about nine inches in length, siX inches in width and three-fourths of an inch in thickness. it may, however, be made of any other desired dimensions. To avoid marring furniture, baseboards, &c., the board l may be provided around its edge with a buffer 2 of felt or other soft material.

Attached to the board 1 is a handle 3 of; sufficient length to permit the operator to reciprocate the vdevice without stooping. In

the preferred construction shown, the hanlower end in a longitudinal slot 5` of the board by a transversepin 6. As shown in' Fig. 3, this pin preferably extends across the full widthy of the board, in order to stiifen it and resist warping thereof. The slot 5 is arranged centrally in the board and extends to its rear edge, to permit the handle-shank to pass through it from either side of the board, in reversing the polisher, as hereinafter described.Y

A polishing pad or covering 7 of appropriate material is applied to both sides of the board l, so that Aone side may be used for applying a liquid or other polish to a hardwoo floor or other surface to be treated, and the other side for rubbing or polishing the surface after the liquid has been applied. For this purpose, li prefer to employ a sack-like covering of knitted cotton or similar elastic or flexible material such as "used for sweater-coats, which is snugly drawn over the board. This sack is closed on all sides, and its neck or open end 8, through which the handle 3 passes, is preferably of such a diameter relative to the normal inclined position and pivotal movement of the handle, that the neck is stretched or distended by the handle in moving the .polisher back and forth over the floor or other surface. During every backward stroke of the polisher the angularity of the handle with reference to the board increases,

with the result that the lneck ofthe sack'is stretched forwardly, thereby drawing the bottom portion of the sack up around the rear edge of the board and from becoming displaced or rom creeping forward thereon during the backward stroke of the polisher. Obviously, rearward displacementof the sack on the board during the forward stroke of the polisher is prevented by the closed end o the sack. By this construction, aninexpensive, one-piece covering is produced'which can` be readily applied and removed and which requires no separate fastenings of anyv kind for securing it y'to the polishing head.'

The handle may be reversibly pivoted to the head or board 1 at any suitable point between its ends, but it is referably pivoted a short distance in rear o the transverse median line of the board, as shown 1n Fig. 2.l

reventing it If the handle of the polisher,`in its use, were normally held perpendicular vto the board, the pressure Would obviously be equalized over all portions of the board by pivoting the handle to the center thereof. But inasmuch as the handle is normally inclined at an angle of approximately fortyv-ve degrees, it is found that with a centrally ivoted handle less pressure is exerted Yon t e rear than on the front portion of the polishing head, with the result that the covering becomes Worn unevenly and only a portion of the polishing surface is eifectively utilized. By pivoting the handle behind the center of the board, as shown, the pressure of the handle, although exerted in a plane oblique to the board, is nevertheless equalized over its entire surface, thus obtaining the full efficiency of the polisher and causing the covering to Wear uniformly.'

In the use of the device, after drawing the covering over the head, a suitable polish.

or cleanser, preferably in liquid form, is applied to oneiside of the head which latter is then rubbedvback and forthover the sur- 'face to be cleaned and polished. After the polish reversed to present its other or polishing side to said surface, the handle-shank l swinging through the slot 5 during this operation.

has been thus applied, the head is The head is then reciprocated over the surface as before, until properly polished.

I claim as my invention:

1. 'A polisher, comprising a head, a handle pivoted to said head to sWin lengthwise thereof, and a covering of flexible material inelosing said head and consisting of a sack having 1ts neck arranged at the rear end of the head, the handle extending through said neck, whereby the handle by its pivotal movement stretches the neck and prevents displacement of the sack on the head.

2. A polisher comprising a head having a suitable covering and a longitudinal slot eX- tending arranged in said slot, and a pivot-pin passing transversely through said head and the portion of the handle arranged in said slot.

3. A polisher comprising a flat-sided head having a longitudinal slot extending to its rear edge, a handle reversibly pivoted in said slot, and a sack-like covering of flexible material inclosing said head and having a neck which receives said handle.

Witness my hand this 24th day of March, 1913.

` ELMER G. MNSFIELD.

Witnesses:

C. F. GEYER, C. B. MCCOLLUM.

to its real end, a swinging handle 

